Just five years ago, a price-conscious auto shopper in the United States could choose from among a dozen new small cars selling for under $20,000.

At a time when Americans increasingly want pricey SUVs and trucks rather than small cars, the Mirage remains the lone new vehicle whose average sale price is under 20 grand — a figure that once marked a kind of unofficial threshold of affordability. With prices — new and used — having soared since the pandemic, $20,000 is no longer much of a starting point for a new car.

This current version of the Mirage, which reached U.S. dealerships a decade ago, sold for an average of $19,205 last month, according to data from Cox Automotive. (Though a few other new models have starting prices under $20,000, their actual purchase prices, with options and shipping, exceed that figure.)

        • WhipTheLlama@lemmy.world
          5·
          10 months ago

          I have a recurring service appointment every two weeks where I drop off the car and throw a stack of money at them.

          Actually, it’s a reliable car, but the previous owner ignored a few big service items. Now that those are done, it’s cheaper to maintain than you might think.

        • tider06@lemmy.world
          41·
          11 months ago

          2030 is more than 5 years from now.

          People who need cars can’t wait 7 years to buy one.

          Also, fuck Tesla. Fucking death traps.

          • DoomBot5@lemmy.world
            1·
            11 months ago

            Not only that, the new technology will be pretty expensive initially. I say wait another 5 years for prices to come down.

        • DoomBot5@lemmy.world
          1·
          11 months ago

          I did the math for my use case, those leases aren’t worth it. Buy the car with a loan and benefit from the tax breaks. It will be cheaper per month, and you can trade it in afterwards.

        • JohnDClay@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          1·
          11 months ago

          I’ve been waiting for aptera, but I think my current vehicle will finish falling apart before they finally come out. I’m going to look for a battery replacement on a bolt.

          Leasing is terrible, I’ll pay much much more over the lifetime of the vehicle. I can afford the money, I just don’t want anything expensive or fancy.